Chris Gayle made light of his limited personal preparation as West Indies enter their defence of the Wisden Trophy.

Gayle, 29, only arrived in the UK at 6.45am yesterday morning due to commitments in the Indian Premier League.

He was originally scheduled to join up with his colleagues over the weekend but requested to play another match for Kolkata Knight Riders, which meant he did not report at the team hotel until 48 hours before the start of the first npower Test at Lord's.

His decision to play for Kolkata on Saturday was sanctioned by the West Indies Cricket Board rather than coach John Dyson, who he has been liaising with on the squad's progress from South Africa.

"We all knew this situation would happen. Basically it was a tour which was slid in," said Gayle, referring to the fact West Indies are filling in after Sri Lanka could not guarantee a full-strength side.

"We were all at IPL and available at that, so with it coming upon us we discussed the situation with the board members and they gave us permission to be back at a certain, particular time.

"It is nothing new, so people should not be surprised.

"No one is bigger than the game, so I asked for permission to come back a day later."

From Gayle's viewpoint delaying a return from Johannesburg a few hours makes little difference to his build-up but just a couple of nets against a red ball, rather than the white one he has been accustomed to over the past six weeks, is hardly sufficient practice and the team has been without its focal point.

However, having originally signed up for the full IPL season, he believes he has shown a commitment to West Indies in being here to lead the side.

"Others may say it is devaluing Test cricket but it is who can add up the situation as quickly as possible and who can be ready physically and mentally for a situation like this," Gayle said.

"I scratched my head over it but I saw it as another chance to represent your state, so there was no way I could avoid coming here to England.

"It was a must, to come here and participate. It is a privilege to lead the entire nation back home."

West Indies can boast recent domination over England, following last winter's 1-0 Test series win, their first against any opposition for five years, and Gayle's high point as an international cricketer.

But their frailties have been exposed in English conditions as much as anywhere over the past decade.

Their past two Test campaigns here, both of four matches, were lost 3-0 and 4-0, and they were also defeated 3-1 in 2000.

"It is going to be tough, there are no two ways about it, much more challenging than it was back home," said Gayle.

"But we have some guys who have played a lot of cricket here and we are up for a challenge and willing to put up a good fight.

"And England are under a bit of pressure to do well leading up to the Ashes."

One positive omen for the West Indians is that they are playing on the same strip on which they escaped with a draw two years ago - one of six consecutive Test stalemates at Lord's.

But their out-of-form batsmen will have to contend with fresh firepower in the home attack with Yorkshire's Tim Bresnan and Graham Onions, of Durham, set for debuts.

Ironically, it was their exploits in the Caribbean earlier this year that jettisoned Steve Harmison to county cricket once more.

"I don't know anything about them, I haven't seen them bowl," said a typically-relaxed Gayle.

"I have not even tasted onion. A couple of guys, including Harmy, struggled a bit in the Caribbean, so I thought it would be a 50-50 chance whether or not he was actually selected for this series."